8061  '12  Hvr  -m 
'A  'N  'asna^jXs 

•sojg  pioiX«o 
Jdpuig 

^unoLuojoqd 


AMERICAN  KO^E,Sm^^i■.l  ;/:, 
NORMAN  E.  RICHARDSON,  Editor 

DRAMATICS  IN 
THE  HOME 


BY 
WILLIAM  BYRON  FORBUSH 


Wii 


THIRD  EDITION 


THE  ABINGDON  PRESS 
NEW  YORK  CINCINNATI 


Copyright,  19 14,  by 
THE  AMERICAN  INSTITUTE  OF  CHILD  LIFE 


Editor's  Introduction 

This  pamphlet  is  practically  a  sequel  of  The 
Dramatic  Instinct  in  Children,  one  of  the  units 
in  the  American  Home  Series.  The  two  should  be 
studied  together. 

Children  are  naturally  dramatic  in  giving  ex- 
pression to  their  ideas  and  convictions.  But  they 
need  guidance  in  order  that  this  inborn  capacity 
for  forcefulness,  vividness,  or  charm  may  be  realized. 
Supervised  practice  in  controlling  the  imagination 
is  no  less  important  than  is  that  of  control- 
ling impulses.  To  play  a  part  in  a  little  home- 
rnade  drama  or  pageant  helps  the  child  to  find 
his  place  and  to  do  his  part  in  the  world's  work 
— and  play.  This  pamphlet  seeks  to  answer  the 
question:  How?  as  its  companion  undertakes  to 
show  what  this  disposition  is. 

The  dramatic  method  in  teaching  has  already 
found  its  way  into  the  best  schools.  It  will  have 
an  increasingly  large  place  in  the  best  homes. 

It  should  be  carefully  noted  that  this  brief  study 
is  not  concerned  primarily  with  amateur  dramatics 
or  theatricals.  The  author  is  not  trying  to  tell 
parents  how  to  train  their  children  to  become  pro- 
fessional actors.  He  desires,  rather,  to  point  out 
how  parents  can  help  their  children  develop  the 
latent  powers  of  expression. 


486829 


A::.'[;*PBAMAfr^^^  THE  HOME 

a  child  of  three,  at  the  period  when  imagination 
seems  to  awaken,  utiHzes  this  faculty  in  play. 
This  is  the  time  when  the  child  imitates  the  acts 
of  older  people;  therefore,  whatever  tiny  imple- 
ments or  apparatus  he  can  use  for  that  purpose 
are  acceptable  to  him. 

Of  the  ready-made  toys,  toy  furniture  for  the 
house,  the  sand  pile  for  outdoors  and  the  doll  for 
both  are  most  useful.  "The  doll,"  as  Sully  tells 
us,  "takes  a  supreme  place  in  this  fancy  realm  of 
play.  The  doll  is  an  all-important  comrade  in  that 
solitude  a  deux,  of  which  the  child,  like  the  adult, 
is  so  fond."  The  complete  adaptability  of  the  doll 
makes  it  an  ideal  means  for  the  puppet  play  of 
idealism.  "A  good,  efficient,  able-bodied  doll,  like 
the  American  girl's,"  says  Joseph  Lee,  "is  at  home 
in  any  situation  in  life,  from  princess  to  kitchen 
maid,  to  which  she  may  be  called.  And  one  doll 
in  her  time  plays  many  parts;  she  has  to,  or  lose 
her  job."  Besides  this,  so  perfectly  does  the  doll 
mingle  with  the  child's  own  personality  that  it 
produces  and  maintains  a  complete  feeling  of 
oneness. 

Says  Sully:  "  *The  dolly  must  do  all  and  be  all 
that  I  am;'  so  the  child,  in  his  warm  attachment, 
seems  to  argue.  This  feeling  of  oneness  is  strength- 
ened by  that  of  exclusive  possession,  the  sense 
that  the  child  himself  is  the  only  one  who  really 
knows  dolly  or  can  hear  her  cry.  It  is  another 
manifestation  of  the  same  feeling  of  intimacy  and 
solidarity  when  a  child  insists  on  dolly's  being 
treated  by  others  as  courteously  as  he  himself  is 
treated.  Children  will  often  expect  the  mother  or 
nurse  to  kiss  and  say  good-night  to  their  pet  or 
pets — for  their  hearts  are  capacious — ^when  she  says 
good-night  to  themselves." 

"The  rimes  of  Mother  Goose,"  says  Mrs.  Herts, 
"were  predominatingly  dramatic.  A  great  many  of 
them  associate  words,  song,  and  action.  The  ordi- 
nary printed  collections  are  misleading  in  this 
respect.    The  words,  taken  alone,  are  not  the  thing. 


DRAMATICS  IN  THE  HOME  7 

Think  of  printing  Tease  porridge  hot'  as  a  separate 
and  independent  poem  without  the  dramatic  hand- 
play!  Indeed,  it  is  a  pity  to  have  these  rimes  in 
books  at  all." 

The  mother  may  help  the  development  of  this 
expressive  instinct  in  early  childhood.  Even  a 
baby  ought  to  be  treated  as  a  play-mate,  not  as  a 
plaything.  There  is  an  old-fashioned  game  known 
as  "Come  to  see."  The  little  damsel  with  her 
doll,  and  perhaps  "dressed  up"  in  some  of  her 
mother's  wardrobe,  came  to  call  on  mother.  Her 
efforts  to  behave  exactly  as  a  lady  should  were 
aided  and  guided  by  the  mother's  careful  behavior 
as  hostess.  It  is  a  training  in  manners.  When  the 
children  play  visit  each  other  they  use  all  the 
manners  they  have.  They  practice  useful  lessons 
without  knowing  it.  The  mother  who  takes  these 
baby  games  seriously  enough  to  enter  into  them 
in  the  child  spirit  is  teaching  her  children  as  truly 
as  is  the  kindergartner. 

The  child  from  four  to  seven  is  capable  of  a  wide 
range  of  imagination.  These  years  are  regarded 
by  psychologists  as  the  most  active  imaginatively 
throughout  life.  Capable  of  imitation  of  the  ideas 
as  well  as  the  acts  of  adults,  the  child  uses  dolls, 
soldiers,  Noah's  arks,  carts,  playhouses,  blocks,  sand- 
piles,  paint  boxes,  and  stencils  to  act  out  a  great 
variety  of  adult  occupations.  The  imagination 
seems  to  engage  in  freer  play  the  more  incomplete 
are  the  media  provided  by  others  for  its  expression. 

"Nothing,"  says  Stevenson,  "can  stagger  a  child's 
faith;  he  accepts  the  clumsiest  substitutions  and 
can  swallow  the  most  staring  incongruities.  The 
chair  he  has  just  been  besieging  as  a  castle,  or 
valiantly  cutting  to  the  ground  as  a  dragon,  is 
taken  away  for  the  accommodation  of  a  morning 
visitor,  and  he  is  nothing  abashed;  he  can  skirmish 
by  the  hour  with  a  stationary  coal  scuttle;  in  the 
midst  of  the  enchanted  pleasance,  he  can  see,  with- 
out sensible  shock,  the  gardener  soberly  digging 
potatoes  for  the  day's  dinner.     He  can  make  ab- 


8  DRAMATICS  IN  THE  HOME 

straction  of  whatever  does  not  fit  into  his  fable; 
and  he  puts  his  eyes  in  his  pocket,  just  as  we  hold 
our  noses  in  an  unsavory  lane." 

Joseph  Lee  says,  "One  of  the  most  petted  quad- 
rupeds I  have  known  consisted,  to  the  prosaic  eye, 
of  half  a  barrel  hoop." 

Even  young  children  differ  in  the  vividness  and 
completeness  with  which  they  surrender  themselves 
to  imaginary  situations.  It  is  said  that  Stevenson 
himself  was  one  day  watching  a  boy  who  was 
playing  that  a  sofa  was  a  boat.  When  he  had 
finished  he  cHmbed  down  and  walked  away.  "For 
heaven's  sake,  swim  ashore!"  cried  out  the  imag- 
inative child-lover  in  genuine  distress.  It  seemed 
to  him  a  pity  that  the  lad  should  not  carry  his 
drama  clear  to  its  proper  close. 

No  doubt,  however,  it  is  clumsy  or  blind  inter- 
ference by  adults  which  most  often  cripples  the 
capacity  of  imaginative  enjoyment.  Sully  tells  this: 
"A  little  girl  of  four  was  playing  'shop'  with  her 
younger  sister.  The  elder  one  was  shopman  at 
the  time  I  came  into  her  room  and  kissed  her. 
She  broke  out  into  piteous  sobs;  I  could  not  under- 
stand why.  At  last  she  sobbed  out:  'Mother,  you 
never  kiss  the  man  in  the  shop.'  I  had  with  my 
kiss  quite  spoiled  her  illusion." 

The  child  soon  tires  of  mechanical  toys,  talking 
dolls  or  elaborate  doll-houses  with  which  there  is 
nothing  he  can  do.  Illustrating  this  point  Joseph  Lee 
says:  "Toys,  things  of  convenient  size  and  shape 
to  play  with,  are  indeed  essential.  But  it  is  what 
you  can  do  with  or  imagine  about  them,  not  what 
they  themselves  can  do,  that  is  important.  ...  It 
is  the  child's  own  achievement,  not  that  of  the 
clever  man  who  made  the  toy,  that  counts." 

Miss  Nora  A.  Smith  tells  of  an  old  German  toy- 
maker  who,  "when  asked  where  he  got  the  ideas 
for  his  playthings,  answered  with  a  half-smile: 
'Not  from  the  children,  anyway.  Children  seldom 
get  the  toys  they  want,  but  those  that  their  parents 
want  them  to  want.'  " 


DRAMATICS  IN  THE  HOME  9 

The  passion  for  destruction  which  often  mani- 
fests itself  during  these  years  is  simply  the  per- 
version of  the  instinct  for  construction.  Being 
provided  with  no  materials  with  which  he  can  build 
he  takes  apart  his  too  complete  toys.  A  pile  of 
blocks,  a  sand-pile,  a  paint-box,  some  dolls  that 
must  be  cut  out,  a  ruined  shed  that  perhaps  may 
be  made  into  a  doll-house,  these  are  ideal  materials 
for  childish  play. 

There  are  a  number  of  old-fashioned  games  which 
exercise  the  dramatic  instinct.  Among  these  are: 
Kitty  White,  Did  You  Ever  See  a  Lassie?  Farmer 
in  the  Dell,  Squirrel  in  the  Trees  and  the  Duck 
Dance.  These  are  all  described  in  Miss  Bancroft*s 
book  on  play  and  games,  referred  to  below.  Let 
us  take  her  description  of  one  of  the  less  familiar 
games,  Kitty  White,  so  that  we  may  notice  how 
the  dramatic  element  is  expressed  throughout.  The 
accompanying  music  is  not  given  in  this  citation. 

"This  is  an  admirable  game  for  very  little  chil- 
dren. Their  dramatic  tendency  should  be  given 
full  rein  in  impersonating  the  soft  movements  of 
the  kitty  and  the  mouse  before  the  chase  begins. 

"Kitty  White  so  slyly  comes, 
To  catch  the  Mousie  Gray; 
But  mousie  hears  her  softly  creep. 
And  quickly  runs  away. 

"Run,  run,  run,  little  mouse. 
Run,  run,  run,  little  mouse. 
For  Kitty  White  is  coming  near. 
And  she  will  catch  the  mouse,  I  fear." 

**One  player  is  chosen  for  the  mouse  and  stands 
in  the  center,  and  another  for  Kitty  White,  who 
stands  outside  the  circle.  The  other  players  join 
hands  in  a  ring  and  move  around,  while  singing 
the  first  four  lines.  Meanwhile  Kitty  White  is 
creeping  around  outside  of  the  circle,  peeping  in 
at  little  Mousie  Gray.  When  the  fourth  line  is 
reached,  *And  quickly  runs  away,'  the  circle  stops 
moving   and   drops   hands   while   the   mouse   runs 


lo  DRAMATICS  IN  THE  HOME 

out  and  in  through  the  circle,  chased  by  Kitty 
White.  For  the  last  four  Hnes,  while  the  chase  is 
going  on,  the  players  in  the  circle  stand  in  place 
and  clap  their  hands  while  singing  *Run,  run,'  etc. 
When  the  mouse  is  caught,  both  return  to  the 
circle,  and  another  mouse  and  kitty  are  chosen." 

Between  seven  and  nine  still  wider  possibilities 
are  found  in  the  dramatic  use  of  materials.  Sliced 
animals  and  other  puzzles  which  consist  of  build- 
ing pictures  from  sections  of  cardboard,  dolls  fur- 
nished with  patterns  for  dressing,  "Magic  Change- 
lings" (cutouts  representing  Mother  Goose  characters 
so  pasted  together  that  they  may  be  two  or  three 
characters,  according  to  the  way  in  which  they  are 
folded),  pasteboard  farms  and  villages,  a  dolly's 
school  outfit.  Miss  Duncan's  pasteboard  garden  with 
labeled  plants,  stamped  patterns  of  birds  and  ani- 
mals to  be  sewed  and  stuffed,  the  "Dynamobile," 
which  goes  by  being  wound  up  or  attached  to 
power,  these  are  some  of  the  store-made  plays 
that  are  worth  while. 

A  child,  however,  will  have  equal  enjoyment  by 
making  a  toy  village  out  of  blocks,  stones,  and 
twigs;  he  can  make  a  miniature  theater  out  of  an 
old  kennel  that  will  satisfy  him  better  than  the 
brightly  colored  ones  which  can  be  bought,  and 
he  can  play  store,  train,  expressman  with  nothing 
more  than  some  boxes  and  a  cart.  The  larger 
skill  and  knowledge  of  the  child  gives  more  con- 
tent to  plays  of  an  earlier  period.  He  now  invents 
and  conducts  elaborate  sieges  and  defenses  for  his 
toy  soldiers;  he  not  merely  plays  with  his  pets, 
but  he  harnesses  and  drives  them.  He  can  get  up 
such  varied  entertainments  as  a  circus,  a  Wild 
West  Show,  a  minstrel  performance  and  a  Japanese 
impersonation. 

The  child  continues  to  play  with  dolls,  but  can 
now  be  induced  to  produce  an  entire  puppet  show, 
one  of  the  most  educative  employments,  by  the 
way,  possible  to  youthful  play.  He  or  she  is  now 
old   enough  to   be  interested   also   in  the   simpler 


DRAMATICS  IN  THE  HOME  ii 

festivals,  such  as  those  of  the  May  Pole,  Halloween, 
and  the  Fourth  of  July.  Among  the  formal  games 
appropriate  to  these  years  are  Bird  Catcher, 
The  Wee  Bologna  Man,  Fox  and  Geese  and  All 
Aboard. 

We  may  provide  an  important  stimulus  to  ob- 
servation by  encouraging  it  in  imaginative  play. 
Miss  Nora  A.  Smith  makes  this  suggestion:  "Half- 
grown  boys  and  girls  too  would  be  delighted  to 
play  at  'Scouting,'  it  being  understood  that  a 
scout  is  always  a  special  person,  selected  for  his 
special  qualifications,  and  that  he  is  supposed  to 
be  unusually  active,  intelligent  and  trustworthy. 

"The  commanding  officer,  peacefully  seated  under 
a  tree  meanwhile,  sends  out  such  a  child  scout  to 
bring  him  a  full  report  of  the  country  up  to  a  given 
point,  stating  the  condition  of  the  roads,  fences 
and  bridges;  giving  a  description  of  the  rocks  or 
trees  behind  which  the  enemy  might  take  shelter; 
noting  the  presence  of  any  figures  in  the  distance 
— dust  rising  or  birds  flying — the  foot-marks,  wheel- 
marks,  hoof-prints  in  the  road,  etc.,  or  the  presence 
of  any  object  by  the  wayside  which  would  indicate 
that  the  foe  had  passed  by. 

"If  it  is  explained  that  the  expedition  is  a  danger- 
ous one,  necessitating  great  care  and  discretion 
on  the  part  of  the  recruit,  and  if  it  is  suggested 
that  it  will  perhaps  be  well  to  make  certain  marks 
to  guard  against  losing  his  way  on  return,  by  break- 
ing small  branches,  piling  up  stones,  *blazing' 
trees,  scratching  fence-posts,  etc.,  the  excitement 
will  be  great  and  the  game  delightful,  as  well  as 
preeminently  useful." 

This  is  about  the  time  when  he  begins  to  get 
up  entirely  original  amateur  shows,  dramatizing 
either  the  stories  he  has  read  or  the  dramas  he 
has  witnessed.  In  his  The  Coming  Generation 
Dr.  Forbush  gives  these  illustrations  from  his  own 
household:  "On  going  upstairs  in  the  country, 
the  author  has  often  been  confronted  by  a  large 
brown  paper  poster  which  reads: 


12  DRAMATICS  IN  THE  HOME 

GREAT  SHOW 

AND  FEED 

At  two  o'clock 

Admission  One  Cent. 

I  pay  my  fee  at  the  door  of  one  of  the  children's 
chambers,  and  am  asked  by  the  youthful  ticket- 
seller  if  I  care  for  a  reserved  seat.  In  a  stage  whisper 
he  adds,  *0  Parp,  do  take  one;  if  you  don't,  we'll 
come  out  short  on  the  refreshments.'  I  deposit 
the  additional  penny,  and  am  ushered  to  a  seat 
upon  the  bed,  over  which  is  the  placard,  Tirst 
Balcony.'     The  rabble  is  seated  on  chairs. 

"We  are  handed  programs,  executed  with  the 
expenditure  of  much  muscle  and  saliva.  First, 
according  to  this  program,  is  a  T'rad  of  Ginruls,' 
introducing  the  entire  company.  Then  follow 
recitations,  songs,  shadow  pictures,  stereopticon  and 
original  plays,  one  of  border  life  and  the  other  of 
conflict  with  crime  in  the  city.  A  reminiscence  of 
Cooper  is  traceable  in  these  vigorously  acted  dramas. 
The  manipulation  of  apparatus  and  the  movernents 
and  dialogue  behind  the  scenes  are  as  entertaining 
to  the  spectators  as  the  regular  acts.  At  the  close 
a  plate  of  delicious  plums  is  passed,  for  which  the 
youngsters  must  have  walked  two  miles  in  the  hot 
sun,  and  mortgaged  all  of  the  proceeds  of  the  enter- 
tainment in  advance." 

The  superior  craftsmanship  of  the  child  between 
ten  and  twelve  enables  him  to  enjoy  games  which 
imitate  in  close  detail  many  adult  activities.  Crepe 
paper,  beads,  and  such  plastic  materials  as  clay 
and  plasticine  can  be  used  for  improving  the  beauty 
of  constructive  articles.  The  boy  now  enjoys  some 
of  the  published  games  by  which  he  can  play  con- 
ductor, postoffice,  and  banker,  and  the  girl  who  plays 
house  does  some  actual  cooking  and  house-cleaning. 

There  was  a  description  not  long  ago  in  American 
Motherhood  of  the  way  a  family  carried  their 
dramatic  representations  of  literature  still  further. 
They  made  models  of  the  places  they  read  about. 


DRAMATICS  IN  THE  HOME  13 

An  Esquimau  village  was  the  simplest  task.  The 
people,  dogs,  sledges,  and  seals  can  be  modeled  in 
clay  and  colored  if  material  is  at  hand.  If  not, 
they  can  be  made  of  paper.  Some  oiled  paper 
over  blue  makes  a  beautiful  polar  sea,  in  which 
should  float  a  great  iceberg  built  either  from  paper, 
or  modeled  from  clay  and  covered  with  cotton,  over 
which  clambers  a  polar  bear.  Cotton  should  cover 
the  rude  huts  and  all  the  land  with  its  snowy  white- 
ness, and  if  a  few  pennies  are  available,  a  sprinkHng 
of  diamond  dust  makes  the  scene  very  realistic. 

The  guidance  of  an  older  person  is  desirable  in 
the  matter  of  reading,  for  the  children  should  be 
encouraged  to  see  that  every  detail  is  true  to  fact. 
If  Robinson  Crusoe's  Island  is  attempted  and 
rightly  carried  out,  the  family  copy  will  be  worn 
to  tatters  before  it  is  done,  as  it  certainly  should 
be.  The  same  kind  of  oiled  and  blue  paper  will 
again  serve  for  the  ocean;  the  sandy  beach  can  be 
real  sand,  in  which  may  be  planted  the  tropical 
forest.  The  text  itself  must  be  studied  for  the 
location  of  the  cave,  the  later  huts,  the  boat,  the 
animals  and  birds.  In  fact,  the  story  must  be 
made  the  foundation  of  it  all  and  its  directions 
followed  to  the  minutest  detail. 

The  Hiawatha  story  is  used  in  some  form  or 
other  by  almost  every  primary  teacher,  and  the 
working  out  of  Hiawatha's  home  is  unfailingly 
interesting.  Here  clay  or  plasticine  is  especially 
desirable.  All  the  characters  mentioned  in  the 
poem  are  modeled  in  it  and  colored  to  barbaric 
splendor.  Wigwams  are  set  in  the  evergreen  forest, 
canoes  line  the  stony  beach  of  the  shining  lake, 
while  birds,  squirrels,  turtles  and  other  creatures 
are  fitted  into  their  proper  environment.  Old 
Nakomis  sits  at  the  tent  door;  the  fortune  teller 
is  in  evidence;  Hiawatha  stands  at  his  canoe,  and 
all  the  other  characters  are  employed  as  the  stor> 
directs.  The  study  for  it  and  the  making  of 
Hiawatha's  home  should  oflFer  occupation  for  a 
large  part  of  a  winter's  leisure. 


14  DRAMATICS  IN  THE  HOME 

The  beginnings  of  American  history  are  studied 
through  the  reproduction  of  a  street  in  the  Dutch 
village  in  which  the  Puritans  took  refuge  from 
persecution  in  England.  Its  houses  with  red  roofs, 
its  wind-mills,  its  church,  reproduce  the  character 
of  the  place,  while  in  the  street  are  groups  of  people 
clad  in  the  costume  of  the  times,  the  men  with 
the  broad-brimmed  hats,  the  women  with  close 
bonnets. 

The  next  step  carries  the  Pilgrims  across  the 
water  to  the  building  of  Old  Plymouth.  In  the 
construction  of  this  village  small  twigs  can  be  used 
for  the  making  of  real  log  houses.  Here,  of  course, 
must  appear  the  homes  of  Priscilla,  of  John  Alden 
and  Miles  Standish,  the  Common  House  and  other 
places  which  any  simple  story  of  the  Pilgrim  Fathers 
will  give.  Someone  must  hunt  in  the  yard  or  in 
the  street  for  a  real  Plymouth  Rock  to  place  upon 
the  seashore. 

If  possible,  it  is  well  to  have  two  or  three  children 
work  together  if  a  village  is  attempted.  The  work 
then  moves  rapidly  enough  to  escape  discourage- 
ment, and  the  many  discussions  that  are  bound 
to  arise  over  the  right  way  of  doing  this  or  that 
are  bound  to  be  instructive. 

There  is  a  great  interest  among  boys  at  this  time 
in  such  toys  as  Meccano  and  the  American  Model 
Builder,  in  which  materials  are  furnished  for  making 
miniature  bridges  and  structures  and  machines. 
The  great  outdoor  and  cooperative  games  of  base- 
ball and  football,  which  are  intensely  dramatic, 
are  now  played  by  boys,  while  both  boys  and 
girls  enjoy  more  elaborate  joint  impersonations  than 
ever  before,  in  acting  charades  and  playing  Dumb 
Crambo. 

The  years  beyond  thirteen  introduce  a  second 
period  of  imitation.  The  boy  now  thinks  he  is 
a  man  and  the  girl  wishes  to  be  a  woman.  This 
play-adultism  manifests  itself,  of  course,  in  the 
insistence  upon  wearing  adult  clothes  and  enter- 
ing into  adult  experiences.     Now  is  the  time  for 


DRAMATICS  IN  THE  HOME  15 

the  den  or  the  clubhouse  or  the  workshop,  in  which 
the  maturing  boy  or  girl  entertains  his  friends  and 
executes  his  craftsmanship  projects.  The  would-be 
athlete  now  constructs  his  rude  outdoor  gym- 
nasium. Indoors  the  amateur  magician  performs 
tricks  to  his  more  or  less  astonished  family. 

A  valuable  device,  which  is  far  more  than  a  toy, 
for  this  period  is  the  stereoscope.  If  supplied  with 
stereoscopic  photographs  carefully  selected  and  ex- 
plained, the  sense  of  perspective,  size,  and  life 
which  this  optical  instrument  gives  enables  the 
imaginative  youth,  or  adult  even,  to  enter  so  vividly 
into  foreign  experiences  and  customs  as  to  con- 
stitute, if  but  briefly,  actual  experiences  of  travel. 

There  is  no  material  or  device  which  has  been 
mentioned  above  that  is  not  available  to  the  most 
modest  household.  The  majority  of  them  consist 
of  articles  already  in  the  house  and  the  others  of 
tools  or  materials  which  are  inexpensive  and  of 
permanent  value. 

Serial  Dramatic  Play 

By  serial  dramatic  play  is  meant  a  dramatic 
game  which  is  taken  up  day  after  day  for  a  con- 
siderable period,  until  it  becomes  a  continued 
story.  The  children  who  engage  in  this  sort  of  play 
are,  of  course,  getting  a  much  finer  intellectual 
stimulus  than  those  who  play  entirely  in  a  desultory 
and  disconnected  fashion.  Not  all  children  have 
the  capacity  to  sustain  games  of  this  sort.  Here 
comes  one  of  the  great  fellowship  opportunities  of 
parenthood. 

A  good  illustration  of  this  sort  of  play  is  the 
war  game  which  Robert  Louis  Stevenson  used  to 
play  with  his  step-son,  Lloyd  Osbourne.  Owing 
to  the  tireless  resourcefulness  of  the  older  play- 
mate, the  two  utilized  nearly  the  whole  house  for 
a  series  of  sieges  and  strategies,  and  went  so  far 
even  as  to  publish  bulletins  from  the  field  of  war, 
which  they  printed  upon  a  small  press. 


i6  DRAMATICS  IN  THE  HOME 

Mr.  H.  G.  Wells,  the  novelist,  has  played  with 
his  two  small  children  by  means  of  blocks,  Noah's 
Ark  people,  twigs  and  miscellaneous  objects,  several 
series  of  games  of  war  and  peace,  which  he  has 
described  most  delightfully  in  his  book.  Floor 
Games.  The  parent  who  tells  a  continued  story 
to  his  children,  which  they  illustrate  together  by 
crude  drawings,  is  engaged  in  an  operation  which 
is  fully  as  much  a  game  as  a  story,  and  which  often 
results  in  the  children  acting  out  the  story  after 
it  has  been  told  or  adding  chapters  to  it  of  their 
own  composition.  So  keenly  do  they  visualize  the 
characters  of  such  a  story  that  upon  being  suddenly 
called  upon  to  relate  what  happened  in  their  favor- 
ite hero's  life  after  some  particular  incident  they 
will  often  reminisce  as  vividly  as  if  they  were  tell- 
ing their  own  histories.  A  method  of  doing  this 
by  handicraft  is  suggested  on  a  previous  page. 

A  description  is  given  in  another  monograph 
(Table  Talk  in  the  Home)  of  a  method  by  which 
a  mother  secured  beautiful  behavior  at  table  by 
naming  the  children  for  real  personages  and  teach- 
ing them  to  regard  each  other  as  distinguished 
guests.  This  device  lasted  successfully  for  a  con- 
siderable time.  It  is  a  pleasant  custom  to  relate 
certain  cooperative  games  and  enjoyments  of  parents 
and  children  to  the  home  festivals. 

It  is  most  enjoyable  for  families,  at  their  re- 
unions, to  act  out  together  the  family  history. 
This  dramatic  commemoration  of  proud  events  in 
the  family  history  stimulates  the  younger  genera- 
tion with  the  desire  for  achievement,  and  instills  a 
wholesome  pride  and  self-respect  which  will  often 
prevent  them,  through  the  temptations  of  youth, 
from  acting  in  a  manner  unworthy  of  their  ancestors. 

Recently  two  young  veterans  who  had  just  re- 
turned from  eighteen  months'  service  with  the 
American  army  in  France  were  given  a  dinner  by 
one  of  their  neighbors  who  wished  to  celebrate 
their  home-coming.  Her  six-year-old  son,  whose 
grandfather  had  served  in  the  Civil  War,  was  much 


DRAMATICS  IN  THE  HOME    '       17 

excited  for  some  weeks  preceding  the  long-anticipated 
welcome  dinner.  On  the  memorable  evening  he 
was  dressed  in  khaki,  in  imitation  of  the  soldier 
guests,  and  wore  his  grandfather's  sword.  The 
double  significance  of  that  evening  will  probably 
never  be  forgotten  by  this  six-year-old,  who  felt 
the  dignity  of  his  position  as  grandson  of  a  Civil 
War  veteran  and  host  of  two  World  War  heroes. 

Folk  Dancing 

We  sometimes  forget  that  all  of  us  use  at  least 
two  languages,  the  language  of  speech  and  the 
language  of  gesture.  The  language  of  gesture  is 
probably  as  old  as  the  language  of  speech,  but 
to-day  the  language  of  speech  has  so  largely  taken 
the  place  of  the  other  that  except  among  the  more 
emotional  people  of  southern  climes  gesture  is 
largely  neglected  and  frequently  meaningless. 

Folk-dancing  is  the  practiced  speech  of  gesture. 
By  this  means,  primitive  peoples  acted  out  most 
of  the  occurrences  of  the  tribe,  the  ways  of  various 
animals,  the  occupations  of  men,  their  wars,  their 
loves,  their  religion,  even  the  moods  of  the  moment. 

There  is,  of  course,  the  closest  relation  between 
music  and  the  dance,  and  the  folk-dances  and  the 
music  that  accompanies  them  have  lived  on  to- 
gether. The  old  ballads  were  all  originally  written 
for  choral  dancing,  so  that  song  and  gesture  were 
closely  united. 

The  theory  that  underlies  belief  in  the  educa- 
tional value  of  dramatic  dancing  was  stated  by 
Plato,  in  the  days  and  among  the  race  that  saw 
and  knew  lives  of  unexampled  attainment  and  a 
record  in  the  arts  that  has  not  been  approached  by 
any  other  people.  He  said:  "Rhythm  and  harmony 
are  made  familiar  to  the  souls  of  the  youths,  that 
they  may  grow  more  gentle  and  graceful  and  har- 
monious, and  so  be  of  service  both  in  words  and  in 
deeds;  for  the  whole  life  of  man  stands  in  need 
of  grace  and  of  harmony." 

There    is    no    apparent    boundary    line    between 


i8  DRAMATICS  IN  THE  HOME 

singing  games,  rhythmic  games,  and  folk-dancing, 
in  its  simplest  and  innocent  forms.  Such  old  sing- 
ing games  as  London  Bridge;  Here  We  Go  Round 
the  Mulberry  Bush;  Oats,  Peas,  Beans  and  Barley 
Grow;  The  Hare  in  the  Hollow;  King  William;  and 
the  Duke  and  the  Castle  embody  dancing  steps, 
though  they  are  games  set  to  music.  The  historic 
minuet  is  an  expression  of  courtliness,  as  it  was 
the  historic  dance  of  the  old  courtly  days. 

Miss  Jane  Addams  and  her  fellow-workers  at 
Hull  House  believe  that  the  development  of  the 
characteristic  national  dances  of  the  various  coun- 
tries that  are  sending  us  immigrants  is  going  to  be, 
together  with  their  folk  songs,  a  valuable  con- 
tribution to  the  refinement  of  our  national  life, 
as  well  as  an  important  support  to  the  self-respect 
of  these  people  who,  because  of  the  arrogance  of 
Americans,  suppose  they  have  ever3rthing  to  learn 
and  nothing  to  give. 

Dramatic  Parties 

To  the  mother  who  is  at  her  wits'  end  in  trying 
to  devise  something  new  and  good  for  children's 
parties,  the  idea  of  using  the  dramatic  instinct 
should  come  as  a  godsend.  Nothing  could  possibly 
be  more  delightful  than  an  afternoon  of  dramatic 
games,  varied  by  more  quiet  story-telling.  Playing 
statues,  getting  up  tableaux,  performing  charades, 
and  even  extemporaneously  acting  out  story-plays 
are  all  methods  of  entertainment  which  win  enthusi- 
astic response.  To  be  ready  for  such  an  emergency 
it  might  be  well  for  mothers  to  follow  the  sugges- 
tion of  Miss  Nora  A.  Smith  that  "a  drawer  in  the 
playroom  closet  be  devoted  to  objects  and  old  finery 
suitable  for  tableaux  and  dramatizations,  such  as 
trappings  for  soldiers,  feathered  hats,  trained  skirts, 
buckled  belts,  gold  lace,  and  old  jewelry."  To  add 
to  the  delight  of  such  a  place.  Miss  Smith  adds, 
"This  closet  should  be  treated  in  general  as  a  high, 
exalted  place,  never  to  be  opened  in  mother's  ab- 
sence or  without  her  consent." 


DRAMATICS  IN  THE  HOME  19 

Pantomime,  Tableaux,  Etc. 

It  is  a  curious  fact  that  that  which  is  the  easiest 
form  of  dramatic  expression  to  young  children  is 
the  most  difficult  to  adolescent  young  people, 
namely,  the  pantomime.  This  is  explained  by  the 
fact  that  little  children  enter  so  unconsciously  into 
action  without  the  use  of  words,  while  the  older 
ones  are  rendered  more  self-conscious  by  being 
restricted  from  the  use  of  speech.  Of  pantomime 
for  little  children,  the  very  simplest  form  is  that 
of  "statues,"  in  which  the  children  pose,  either 
dressed  all  in  white  with  powdered  hair  or  with 
no  change  of  costume,  to  represent  scenes  from 
life,  familiar  people,  common  trades,  form  of  action, 
famous  people  and  well  defined  thoughts  or  feelings. 

The  next  dramatic  step  is  the  tableaux,  in  which 
the  children  are  grouped  at  least  in  pairs,  arranged 
in  a  frame  or  behind  a  curtain,  dressed  in  costume. 
Here,  as  in  the  statues,  their  own  inventiveness  may 
be  largely  depended  upon,  as  they  pose  to  repre- 
sent characters  in  story-books,  characters  in  poems, 
scenes  from  history,  people  of  other  lands  and 
famous  pictures. 

The  third  variety  is  the  shadow  play,  in  which 
with  even  simpler  properties  but  with  more  careful 
rehearsal  the  children  pose  as  silhouettes  and  em- 
ploy a  few  dramatic  gestures.  In  Miss  Perry's 
When  Mother  Lets  Us  Act  the  details  of  all  these 
pantomime  performances  are  given  quite  adequately. 

The  next  step  in  dramatic  performances  is  story- 
playing.  The  easiest  kind  consists  of  simple  char- 
acter sketches,  in  which  a  child  may  portray  quickly 
with  language  as  well  as  gesture  such  characters 
as  the  father,  an  old  witch,  a  newspaper  boy,  a 
school  teacher.  Animals  may  also  be  imitated. 
Miss  Perry  describes  a  lovely  acting  game,  which 
she  calls  Playing  Garlands. 

"Garlands,''  as  she  describes  it,  "is  a  little  group 
of  plays  acted  one  after  the  other,  all  a  part  of 
the  same  idea  and  each  one  acted  by  one  child  only. 
When  grandmother  comes,  you  can  have  the  gar- 


20  DRAMATICS  IN  THE  HOME 

land  of  greetings.  Encircle  grandmother,  hand  in 
hand.  Then  let  each  child  represent  something 
that  is  glad  to  welcome  grandmother.  One  repre- 
sents the  chickens  and  struts  and  flutters,  one 
represents  the  flowers — this  one  spreads  her  skirts 
and  acts  like  a  flower;  and  so  on.  A  garland  of 
Robert  Louis  Stevenson's  poems,  each  child  taking 
one  poem  and  speaking,  or  singing,  and  acting  it, 
is  charming." 

Doctor  Gesell  describes  the  way  this  activity 
develops  in  the  elementary  schoolroom:  "Very 
soon  the  class  will  not  be  content  with  one  player. 
The  boy  who  is  trying  to  represent  the  monkey 
will  suggest  that  he  have  a  hand-organ  man;  the 
hen  will  want  chickens,  and  the  scene  will  go  natur- 
ally and  easily  without  dictation.  It  is  interesting 
to  see  how  the  children  grow  in  power  of  repre- 
sentation and  suggestion,  and  how  naturally  lan- 
guage begins  to  be  the  necessary  accompaniment  of 
gesture.  The  language  of  the  children  will  be 
pictorial  and  full  of  unexpected  terms  and  phrases. 
At  this  stage  of  the  work  it  will  be  found  helpful 
to  put  a  screen  between  the  player  and  the  class. 
Such  a  device  adds  a  little  mystery  to  the  play. 
The  effect  that  such  work  may  have  upon  voice 
culture  is  most  significant." 

The  next  step  will  be  stories  with  simple  plot. 
In  performing  these  it  is  not  necessary  to  memorize, 
and  it  is  undesirable  to  do  so.  Miss  Fry  in  her 
Educational  Dramatics  describes  in  a  vivid  way 
how  a  story-play  evolves.  Here  is  a  bit  of  her 
monologue,  in  which  we  can  easily  imagine  the 
interruptions  of  the  children.  The  play  is  a  variant 
of  the  Cinderella  story: 

"Good!  Let's  begin  with  the  Market-Place! 
And  the  crowd  is  there,  as  the  story  says.  What 
will  the  crowd  be  doing?  Buying  and  selling,  and 
walking  about  and  gossiping,  as  crowds  always  do 
anywhere!  Yes!  We  can  have  chairs  about,  to  be 
the  shops,  and  Cicily  will  be  in  the  crowd,  of  course, 
shabby  and  shy,  because  she  is  poor,  and  no  one 


DRAMATICS  IN  THE  HOME  21 

notices  her.  O,  no!  Not  unhappy,  because  she  is 
a  merry  creature,  even  if  she  is  poor!  Barefoot? 
I  s^pose  so!  Rags?  O,  let's  plan  the  whole  story 
first  and  what  they  do,  and  then  think  about  clothes 
and  other  things,  or  we  never  shall  be  through  and 
doing  it! 

"Now  what  happens?  The  Bellman's  bell  can 
sound  outside  the  Square  just  as  in  the  story,  and 
we  can  hear  him  calling,  *0,  Ye's!  O,  Ye's!'  and 
the  bell  really  ringing.  Then  what  will  happen? 
The  Bellman  will  march  in,  yes!  Ringing  and 
calling,  all  the  people  of  the  place  will  'come  run- 
ning,' as  the  story  says.  What  a  lot  more  fun  it 
will  be  to  be  doing  it  than  just  hearing  about  it! 
O,  yes!  of  course  they  chatter  at  him.  The  story 
does  not  say  that^  but  any  one  would  know  it.'* 

Mrs.  Braucher  recommends  for  story-playing  the 
following  stories,  some  of  which  lend  themselves 
to  a  more  permanent  form  of  acting: 

Cinderella. 

Sleeping  Beauty. 

Hansel  and  Gretel. 

Jack  and  the  Beanstalk. 

Snow-white. 

Elves  and  Shoemaker. 

Eleven  Wild  Swans. 

Red  Shoes. 

The  Cat  and  the  Parrot. 

The  Golden  Goose. 

King  Arthur  and  Excalibur. 

The  Hole  in  the  Dike. 
We  come  now  to  the  performing  of  memorized 
plays  by  adolescent  young  people.  Before  adoles- 
cence memorizing  is  of  little  value  in  dramatic 
performance,  unless  it  be  of  poems  to  be  acted, 
because  it  tends  to  hamper  the  freedom  of  original 
speech  and  action.  Here  Frederica  Beard's  sensible 
statement  is  memorable:  "The  dramatic  instinct 
is  not  utilized  primarily  by  the  seeing  of  plays, 
but  by  self-expression  in  the  acting  out  of  plays 
suitable  to  a  particular  age."     It  is  the  children 


22  DRAMATICS  IN  THE  HOME 

who  have  been  surfeited  by  the  drama  and  the 
moving-picture  show  who  regard  dramatic  play  as 
tiresome.  Those  who  are  leading  in  the  Junior 
Drama  League,  instead  of  encouraging  theater- 
going among  children,  are  strongest  in  their  in- 
sistence that  children  ought  to  he  kept  from  the 
playhouses.  Neither  is  it  believed  that  the  de- 
velopment of  dramatic  expression  among  chil- 
dren is  likely  to  increase  the  number  of  young  who 
go  into  that  profession. 

Development  through  patient  drill  of  some  ca- 
pacity in  the  taking  of  parts,  on  the  other  hand, 
tends  to  help  a  child  to  discriminate  between  good 
and  poor  acting,  and  to  appreciate  all  his  life  that 
which  is  truly  fine  in  this  great  and  ancient  art. 
But  the  greatest  difference  between  the  spirit  of 
the  mother  or  teacher  who  coaches  some  young 
people  in  their  amateur  plays  and  the  teacher  of 
dramatic  art  is  that  the  latter  works  almost  entirely 
to  specialize  the  actor  for  his  business  and  art  of 
acting,  while  the  leader  of  amateurs  is  concerned 
chiefly  with  the  results  of  the  acting  in  developing 
the  characters  of  the  children  through  this  exercise 
of  the  dramatic  instinct. 

Something  more  than  the  dramatic  instinct  may 
be  exercised  through  these  amateur  home  plays. 
One  writer  describes  how  once  he  started  out  with 
a  group  of  young  folks  to  give  a  pantomime  of 
Hiawatha.  The  boys  were  to  do  the  acting  while 
he  read  part  of  the  poem  aloud.  This  seemed  to 
be  such  an  easy  thing  to  do  that  they  had  not 
planned  to  have  the  preparations  last  more  than 
a  month,  but  they  took  all  winter.  The  boys  got 
so  interested  in  making  the  costumes  and  painting 
the  scenery  that  they  worked  enthusiastically  week 
after  week  in  doing  so.  They  made  their  costumes 
out  of  brown  cambric  or  denim,  which  was  easily 
fringed.  Their  moccasins  were  made  of  the  same 
material,  and  beads  were  liberally  used  on  the 
moccasins  and  the  bracelets.  "Scalps"  were  made 
of  old  switches  of  false  hair,  and  the  blades  of  the 


DRAMATICS  IN  THE  HOME 


23 


tomahawks  were  very  realistic  with  red  paint. 
They  secured  old  Christmas  trees  from  the  public 
gardens,  they  set  up  a  tent  of  their  own  devising, 
they  had  a  camp  fire,  lighted  by  red  electric  bulbs, 
they  had  scenery  of  their  own  painting  and  they 
even  had  a  moon  of  their  own  which  rose  more  or 
less  spasmodically. 

When  the  boys  put  on  their  warpaint  and  per- 
formed their  dance,  to  an  Indian  chant  of  their 
own  invention,  under  red  fire,  they  were  positively 
gruesome,  and  the  dramatic  climax  of  Hiawatha's 
wedding  was  glorious  in  the  extreme.  Evidently, 
in  these  exercises  it  was  not  the  dramatic  instinct 
alone  that  counted,  though  that  was  central  through- 
out, but  the  gang  spirit  was  behind  it  all,  and  the 
handicraft  instinct  became  involved,  while  music, 
art  and  the  love  of  literature  all  found  their  place. 

Miss  Cora  Mel  Patten,  who  has  had  a  varied 
experience  in  coaching  young  people  in  connection 
with  the  playgrounds  and  social  centers  of  Chicago, 
advises  that  for  the  best  results  the  leader  should 
deal  only  with  small  groups.  She  believes  that 
intensive  work  carried  on  patiently  and  for  a  long 
time  with  a  moderate-sized  dramatic  club  is  more 
effective  than  the  ambitious  endeavor  to  deal  with 
a  large  company.  As  in  all  social  work  that  amounts 
to  anything,  it  seems  better  to  get  somewhere  with 
a  few  than  merely  to  start  with  the  many.  In  the 
small  group  the  mob  spirit  is  entirely  absent,  and 
if  it  be  a  selected  company,  everybody  is  in  earnest. 
These  statements  suggest  that  the  pageant,  which 
is  becoming  so  popular,  is  worth  while  for  its  pa- 
triotic and  inspirational  rather  than  its  dramatic 
opportunities. 

Dramatized  Work 

The  chief  difference  between  work  and  play  to 
a  child  seems  to  be  that  in  work  a  definite  creative 
result  is  kept  in  mind,  so  that  the  end,  rather  than 
the  means,  is  the  central  purpose.  In  play  the 
means  is  everything  and  the  end  is   a  matter  of 


24  DRAMATICS  IN  THE  HOME 

indifference.  Until  the  child  is  old  enough  to  be- 
come something  of  a  creator  and  inventor  he  does 
not  instinctively  perform  much  work.  Sometimes 
before  that  period  arrives,  however,  it  is  possible 
to  interest  him  in  profitable  tasks  if  he  can  engage 
in  them  with  his  imagination;  and  all  through 
childhood,  and,  indeed,  all  through  life,  imagina- 
tion is  the  Shekinah  that  leads  the  host  of  toil 
through  its  wilderness  toward  the  promised  land. 

A  pleasant  device  to  encourage  young  children  to 
work  is  to  denominate  them  as  "soldiers,"  "watch- 
men," or  "little  partners."  The  addition  of  a 
paper  cap  or  a  wooden  sword  or  a  policeman  s  club 
will  carry  many  a  small  youngster  through  a  task 
which  would  otherwise  seem  intolerable.  One 
mother  has  strengthened  her  family  discipline  by 
assigning  each  of  her  children  in  turn  to  be  "the 
captain  of  the  day,"  giving  each  in  turn  special 
pnvileges  and  the  responsibility  of  keeping  the 
other  children  in  order.  If  a  boy  or  girl  can  only 
turn  something  into  something  else  more  to  his 
liking,  he  will  develop  considerable  industry.  If 
the  woodpile  and  the  dishpan  can  be  utilized  as 
enemies  to  be  destroyed  and  the  untidy  room  as  a 
province  to  conquer,  these  tasks  are  fulfilled  with 
a  complete,  though  furious,  equanimity. 

In  one  home  where  there  were  many  humdrum 
tasks  to  be  performed  by  the  children  the  oldest 
won  the  enthusiasm  of  the  rest  by  printing  the 
names  of  all  the  tasks  upon  slips  of  paper  and 
letting  each  draw  lots.  The  uncertainty  of  the 
lot  and  the  chance  to  relieve  the  tedium  by  enter- 
ing for  a  time  into  the  work  of  another  changed 
the  aspect  of  the  whole  situation. 

The  idea  of  partnership  may  be  profitably  em- 
ployed all  through  childhood.  The  writer  remembers 
an  investment  in  hens  in  which  the  drudgery  was 
completely  lightened  by  the  fact  that  he  entered 
into  equal  partnership  with  his  father,  which  in- 
volved the  keeping  of  a  leather-bound  account  book 
and  the   rendering  of  weekly   balance   sheets.     It 


DRAMATICS  IN  THE  HOME  25 

seems  probable  that  during  the  years  of  youth, 
when  imagination  no  longer  disguises  the  task,  the 
growing  boy  or  girl  meets  it  with  complaisance  and 
success  because  he  still  thinks  of  himself  as  a  skilled 
craftsman  who  has  pride  in  doing  his  work  well. 

Home  Discipline  Through  the  Dramatic 
Instinct 

What  has  just  been  said  indicates  some  possi- 
bilities which  may  be  worked  out  in  the  direction 
of  governing  children  through  the  playful  use  of 
this  instinct.  Sully  reports  this:  "  *When  R.  is 
naughty  and  in  a  passion'  (writes  a  lady  friend  of 
her  child,  aged  three  and  a  half)  T  need  only  sug- 
gest to  him  that  he  is  some  one  else — say,  a  friend 
of  his — and  he  will  take  it  up  at  once.  He  will 
pretend  to  be  the  other  child,  and  at  last  go  and 
call  himself,  now  a  good  boy,  back  again.  This 
mode  of  suggestion,  by  helping  the  'higher  self 
to  detach  itself  from  and  control  the  lower  might, 
one  suspects,  be  much  more  widely  emplo^^ed  in 
the  moral  training  of  children." 

One  mother,  when  her  little  boy  sulked  upon  being 
requested  to  do  some  little  thing  for  her,  would 
pretend  to  telephone  for  a  messenger  boy  with 
certain  characteristics  which  were  not  much  in 
evidence  in  her  own  son  at  the  time,  explaining  that 
her  little  son,  who  usually  ran  errands  for  her,  was 
not  at  home  to-day.  The  latter,  in  his  interest  in 
the  "game,"  would  immediately  forget  to  sulk, 
knock  politely  at  the  door  of  his  mother's  room, 
and  upon  being  invited  to  enter,  present  himself 
as  the  messenger  boy  for  whom  she  had  telephoned. 
When  asked  how  long  he  could  stay,  he  would 
reply  "All  day  if  you  wish,"  and  in  the  role  of 
messenger  boy,  he  cheerfully  performed  his  mother's 
errands. 

When  her  sister's  little  children  seemed  averse 
to  washing  their  hands  and  faces  in  preparation 
for  dinner,  Mrs.  Chcnery  tells  of  how  their  mother 


26  DRAMATICS  IN  THE  HOME 

made  this  duty,  so  disagreeable  to  all  children, 
really  pleasurable  through  the  use  of  military  com- 
mands which  always  appealed  to  them. 

"Attention!  Forward  march!  one,  two,  one,  two. 
Right  face — ^to  the  bathroom,  march!" 

Then,  after  their  hands  and  faces  were  shining 
and  their  tangled  curls  combed  out,  "Attention! 
Left  face!  Forward  march!" — downstairs,  through 
the  hall,  then  once  more,  "Left  face — ^to  the  dining- 
room — march!" 

Not  only  does  imagination  help  a  child  cheerily 
to  obey,  but  it  helps  an  adult  wisely  to  command. 
Throughout  childhood  and  youth  can  there  be  a 
better  maxim  for  government  than  that  which  is 
the  very  heart  of  the  imaginative  instinct:  put 
yourself  in  the  child's  place? 

Clubs  Based  on  Imaginative  Play 

Some  of  the  most  successful  clubs  for  boys  and 
girls  are  those  in  which  every  activity  is  made  a 
part  of  a  play-world,  in  which  the  members  live 
during,  and,  to  some  extent,  between,  the  sessions 
of  the  club.  In  the  Boy  Scouts,  for  example,  the 
lad  thinks  of  himself  as  a  pioneer  and  enacts  through 
a  skillful  variety  of  exercises  many  of  the  resource- 
ful habits  of  the  early  explorers.  The  imaginative 
element  is  conspicuous  also  in  Mr.  Thompson- 
Seton's  organization,  The  Wood-Craft  Indians.  The 
program  of  the  Camp  Fire  Girls  likewise  makes  a 
strong  appeal  to  the  imaginative  and  the  play  spirit. 

In  the  Order  of  the  Knights  of  King  Arthur  the 
boys  pretend  that  they  are  members  of  the  ancient 
Round  Table;  they  bear  the  names  of  knights  and 
heroes;  they  carry  their  initiates  from  one  rank  to 
another;  they  engage  in  quests  and  tournaments, 
and  the  influence  upon  an  individual  is  distinctly 
in  the  direction  of  absorbing  ideals  of  chivalric 
manhood.  In  a  sister  organization.  The  Queens  of 
Avalon,  the  girls  think  of  themselves  as  the  queens 
who  in  the  King  Arthur  legend  dwelt  upon  the 
magic  isle  of  Avalon  for  the  healing  of  mankind. 


DRAMATICS  IN  THE  HOME  27 

In  an  organization  for  younger  boys,  called  The 
Brotherhood  of  David,  lads  between  eight  and 
twelve  regard  themselves  as  future  kings,  in  exile, 
dwelling,  like  David,  in  caves  and  fields  and  pre- 
paring for  sovereignty.  The  Wolf  Cubs — an  English 
organization  for  pre-adolescent  boys — holds  before 
its  members  the  ideal  of  a  pack  of  wolves. 

Dramatic  Self-Government 

This  idea  was  carried  still  further  in  self-govern- 
ing communities  of  boys  and  girls,  such  as  the 
George  Junior  Republic.  In  these  villages  for 
delinquent  children  and  orphans  the  young  people 
all  the  time  realize  a  civic  situation  through  officials 
elected  by  themselves,  by  legislative  enactments 
which  they  passed  and  amended,  through  a  com- 
plete financial  and  commercial  system,  by  which, 
under  as  few  restrictions  as  possible,  they  solved  the 
problems  of  the  state  and  of  individual  prosperity. 
A  similar  method  has  been  worked  out  in  the 
"school  city"  in  some  of  our  public  schools. 

Dramatics  in  the  Church 

In  all  Christian  worship  the  dramatic  element 
survives.  It  finds  its  most  elaborate  expression  in 
the  Roman  Catholic  mass,  but  even  the  simple 
order  of  service  in  the  church  of  Puritan  lineage 
has  certain  dramatic  elements.  The  sacraments  of 
baptism  and  of  the  Lord's  Supper  in  those  com- 
munions are  intensely  impressive  to  children  simply 
because  of  their  dramatic  elements. 

In  liturgical  churches,  where  the  entrance  of 
the  clergy  and  the  choristers  in  processional  is  fol- 
lowed by  a  variety  of  consecutive  and  historic 
ceremonies,  performed  by  rising,  sitting,  kneeling 
and  going  to  the  altar  in  turn,  and  concluding  with 
the  recessional  of  the  celebrants,  children  who 
have  been  trained  in  churchly  ways  find  a  keen 
and  lifelong  delight.  Surely,  nothing  but  the  dra- 
matic character  of  such  services  can  explain  the 


28  DRAMATICS  IN  THE  HOME 

joy  which  Httle  children  take  in  going  to  church 
where  the  sermon  and  much  of  the  service  are 
incomprehensible. 

The  festival,  even  more  than  the  ordinary  service 
of  worship,  makes  its  dramatic  appeal  to  children. 
No  one  could  have  been  present  in  an  Italian  city 
on  some  high  feast  day,  when  the  main  street  of 
the  village  was  decorated  for  the  great  procession, 
when  all  the  treasures  of  the  church  were  exposed 
to  view,  and  when  the  band,  the  crowd  of  venders, 
the  best  clothes  of  everybody,  and,  most  of  all, 
the  dramatic  services  themselves,  both  in  the  church 
and  on  the  street,  were  heightening  the  impression, 
without  realizing  that  here  is  the  secret  of  much 
of  the  power  of  the  church  in  the  lives  of  these 
imaginative  people.  To  be  in  such  a  village  at 
Christmas  time  and  to  go  into  the  Hghted  church 
and  see  before  the  high  altar  the  Christmas  creche, 
with  its  cardboard  scenery  and  its  toy  images  of 
Joseph,  Mary,  and  the  Christ-child,  the  shepherds 
and  the  Wise  Men,  thronged,  as  it  is,  with  wide- 
eyed  children,  is  to  appreciate  the  wisdom  of  the 
Roman  Church  in  visualizing  for  the  children  the 
drama  of  the  incarnation. 

Those  who  have  been  brought  up  in  a  colder 
atmosphere  can  hardly  fail  to  remember  the  thrill 
which  they  felt  when  they  witnessed  or  participated 
as  children  in  the  dialogues,  exercises,  and  choruses 
of  Sunday  school  concerts.  There  has  been  of  late 
the  beginning  of  a  revival,  even  in  Protestant 
churches,  of  the  miracle  play,  in  which  boys  as 
well  as  girls  have  been  delighted  to  take  part,  and 
in  which  the  spiritual  impression  of  the  enacting 
of  Scripture  stories  without  scenery  has  been  pro- 
found upon  both  actors  and  audience. 

The  religious  pageant,  as  well,  with  its  simple 
yet  suggestive  scenery,  and  its  appropriate  music, 
lights  the  imagination  of  the  children  and  young 
people  until  they  themselves  live  through,  in  a 
measure,  the  experiences  of  those  staunch  men  and 
women  who  lived  centuries  ago  in  the  Holy  Land. 


DRAMATICS  IN  THE  HOME  29 

By  making  these  Bible  characters  seem  real  human 
beings,  who  thought  and  acted  much  as  we  do  to- 
day, we  help  to  make  them  a  real  power  to  shape 
character  in  the  lives  of  our  boys  and  girls.  The 
program  of  the  church  needs  to  consider  more 
fully  the  power  of  appeal  through  the  dramatic 
and  imaginative  instincts  of  its  youth. 

SUMMARY 

The  home  may  develop  the  dramatic  instinct  by  encouraging 
dramatic  play  and  games.  Some  of  the  most  inexpensive  and 
accessible  homemade  playthings  are  the  most  valuable  for 
dramatic  purposes. 

Through  serial  and  cooperative  dramatic  play,  the  parent 
enters  into  and  retains  the  pleasantest  kind  of  fellowship  with 
his  children.  There  is  excellent  opportunity  to  employ  this 
kind  of  play  in  story-telling  and  at  the  family  festivals. 

Folk-dancing  is  a  form  of  dramatic  play  which,  historically, 
has  been  of  great  importance  and  is  to-day  most  valuable  in 
stimulating  artistic  capacity  and  making  the  child  bodily  and 
spiritually  graceful  and  harmonious. 

Parents  will  find  their  best  resource  for  children's  parties 
in  inviting  all  those  present  to  exercise  the  dramatic  instmct. 

Through  such  dramatics,  the  home,  the  school  and  the  social 
center  have  excellent  opportunities  to  bring  themselves  close 
to  the  children.  Beginning  with  pantomime  and  continuing 
with  originative  story-playing,  the  child,  by  and  by,  in  adoles- 
cence, comes  to  the  period  when  he  is  ready  to  perform  memor- 
ized plays.  By  doing  so  he  gains  a  new  form  of  expression  and 
becomes  capable  of  recognizing  what  is  really  fine  in  the  drama. 

The  parent  should  crave,  and  the  social  worker  plan,  so  that 
every  child  will  have  the  opportunity  during  the  "gang"  period 
of  belonging  to  some  social  club  whose  scheme  is  based  upon 
imaginative  play.  In  such  organizations,  young  people  live 
out  together  actual  revivals  of  pioneer  activities  and  virtues 
and  of  the  days  and  deeds  of  chivalry.  A  similar  opportunity 
is  possible  in  the  schools,  through  dramatic  self-government. 

The  parent  ought  to  be  interested  in  the  tendency  that  is 
manifest  in  the  church  to  recognize  and  revive  the  sacred  drama. 
Both  through  liturgy  and  the  church  festivals  it  is  possible  to 
make  the  strongest  spiritual  impression  upon  children. 

REFERENCES 

The  Dramatic  Festival,  by  Annie  A.  T.  Craig.  (Containing 
plays  and  festivals  for  successive  school  periods.) 

Folk  Festivals,  by  Mary  Master  Needham.  (Very  practical 
and  suggestive.) 


30  DRAMATICS  IN  THE  HOME 

Pageants   and    Pageantry,    by    Bates    and   Orr.     (Helpful 

introduction  and  five  pageants.) 
Festivals  and  Plays,  by  Percival  Chubb.     (For  schools  and 

other  institutions.    Valuable  suggestions  on  the  use  of  music 

in  festival  work.) 
The  Celebration  of  the  Fourth  of  July  by  Means  of 

Pageantry,  by  William  Chauncy  Langdon. 
Education  through  Recreation,  by  George  E.  Johnson. 

*  Education  by  Plays  and  Games,  by  George  E.  Johnson. 

*  Play  in  Education,  by  Joseph  Lee. 
Education  through  Play,  by  Henry  S.  Curtis. 

*  The  Kingdom  of  the  Child,  by  Heinige. 

*  The  Play  Way,  by  H.  Caldwell  Cock. 

*  Play  Life  in  the  First  Eight  Years,  by  Luella  Palmer. 
*The   New   Kindergarten  Curriculum,   Bulletin   No.   i6, 

United  States  Bureau  of  Education,  Chapter  on  Games. 

How  to  Teach,  by  Norsworthy  and  Strayer.  Chapter  9,  on 
The  Meaning  of  Play  in  Education. 

Games  for  the  Playground,  Home,  School  and  Gymnasium, 
by  Jessie  H.  Bancroft.  (Gives  graded  descriptions  of  many 
active  dramatic  games  for  all  ages.) 

Easy  Games  for  Little  Players,  by  Margaret  Boughton. 
(An  English  publication,  showing  how  to  turn  the  nursery 
rhymes  into  dramatic  form.  This  would  be  excellent  for  a 
children's  party  or  for  any  little  circle  that  chances  to  be 
meeting  in  the  home.  The  suggested  dialogue  does  not 
need  to  be  memorized.) 

Fundamentals  of  Child  Study,  by  E.  A.  Kirkpatrick.  Chap- 
ter 9,  on  Play. 

The  Dramatic  Arts,  by  Caroline  Crawford.  Article  in  the 
Teacher's  College  Record,  September,  1915. 

Children's  Play  and  Its  Place  in  Education,  by  Walter 
Wood. 

Manual  of  Play,  by  William  Byron  Forbush. 

The  Rhythms  of  Childhood,  by  Caroline  Crawford. 

Dramatic  Games  and  Dances  for  Little  Children,  by 
Caroline  Crawford. 

Timely  Games  and  Songs,  by  Clara  Sawyer  Reed. 

Games  for  the  School,  Gymnasium  and  Home,  by  Jessie 
Bancroft. 

Festivals  and  Pageants,  by  Percival  Chubb. 

Pageantry  and  Dramatics  in  Religious  Education,  by  W. 
V.  Meredith. 

The  Use  of  Dramatic  Arts  in  Religious  Education,  by 
Mary  Alice  Jones.  (An  M.  A.  thesis  on  file  at  North- 
western University.) 

*  The  volumes  that  are  starred  will  be  found  particularly  helpful.    The  volianeu 
listed  above  may  be  secured  through  the  publishers  of  this  pamphlet. 


THE  AMERICAN  HOME  SERIES 

NORMAN  E.  RICHARDSON,  Editor 


1.  The  Nation's  Challenge  to  the  Home 

2.  How  One  Real  Mother  Lives  with  Her  Children 

3.  Parenthood  and  Heredity 

4.  The  Roots  of  Disposition  and  Character 

5.  The  First  Year  in  a  Baby's  Life 

6.  Thumb-Sucking 

7.  The  Education  of  the  Baby  Until  It  Is  One  Year  Old 

8.  First  Steps  Toward  Character 

9.  The  Second  and  Third  Years 

10.  The  Education  of  the  Child  During  the  Second  and 

Third  Years 

11.  The  Mother  as  Playfellow  (Years  One,  Two,  and 

Three) 

12.  The  Problems  of  Temper 

13.  The  Problems  of  Fighting 

14.  The  Government  of  Young  Children 

15.  The  Punishment  of  Children 

16.  The  Home  Kindergarten 

17.  The  Religious  Nurture  of  a  Little  Child  (Years 

Four  and  Five) 

18.  The  Nervous  Child 

19.  On  Truth  Telling   and  the   Problem  of  Children's 

Lies 

20.  The   Government    of    Children    Between   Six   and 

Twelve 

21.  The  Dramatic  Instinct  in  Children 

22.  Dramatics  in  the  Home 

23.  Table  Talk  in  the  Home 

24.  Sunday  in  the  Home 

25.  A  Year  of  Good  Sundays 

26.  The  Picture-Hour  in  the  Home 

27.  Story-Telling  in  the  Home 

28.  Music  in  the  Home 

29.  Training  in  Thrift 

30.  "What   to    Say"  in   Telling   the    Story   of   Life  s 

Renewal 

31.  Sex  Discipline  for  Boys  in  the  Home 

32.  Youth's  Outlook  Upon  Life 

33.  Building  for  Womanhood 

34.  Rhythm  and  Recreation 

Prices  will  be  Furnished  on  Application 


3 


""TT'riF  25  CENTS 

W'^^  ^^^t  5n  THE  DATE  DU^;,JtHE  FOURTH 

DAY  AND  TO  51"  _--=== 

OVERDUE.  _^ 

^^siTSolsa^^  ,    MAB  14  1947 


REG  D  LD 

JAN  2  2 1962 


AUG    9   1940 


P 


DEC   9 


•W)' 


im. 


nap    V^I^Q-^^* 


LD  '^1 


_20m-6,'^''^ 


486829 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  UBRARY 


